A Question about Brining

I cook turkey ALL the time. I keep it moist by NOT putting ANY sugar or salt on it - I use pineapple chunks and pineapple juice. The pineapple juice keeps the turkey nice and moist, and the pineapple chunks help to retain the water.
Another tip: The white meat is what gets dry. This is because it takes SO long for the dark meat to cook. Cut the thighs of your turkey so the dark meat cooks faster. Your white meat will remain juicy and not be overcooked, and your dark meat will be cooked! Enjoy!

Great tips! I'm also interested in brining sometime. Thanks, Dorine, for bringing it up!

thanks for posting this to Diet Recipes/Tips...

Hi Dorine...My brother was a chef. If you were to cook turkey the way he did it for a very well-known restaurant, you would do it this way.

Use a fresh turkey, or one that has been defrosted properly in the refrigerator. Rinse the bird in cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Do not salt. Do not use sugar or bacon or anything. Insert a meat thermometer into flesh of the bird so that you will be able to see when the serving temperature has been reached. Do not stuff the bird. Bake your stuffing in a separate dish the day it will be served. The night before the big event, place the turkey in the oven at 300 degrees. Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for one hour. This will kill any bacteria that may be on the surface of the skin. Turn the oven down to the temperature at which you will serve it--- 180 degrees. If your oven does not go down to 180 degrees then set it as close to that temperature as you can get---190 or even 200 is ok. Continue to roast the bird uncovered at that low temperature. Go to bed and forget about it. The next day, you will be able to serve the turkey anytime after mid-day. (Yes, you will have been slow roasting it from 12 to 18 hours or even longer, if necessary) The skin will be crisp and brown on the outside but the meat beneath the crisp skin will be tender and very juicy. Turkey cooked this way will NEVER be dry. When ready to serve, reach in with surgical gloves and loosen the breast from the rest of the bird, removing the entire breast. Carve the breast with a very sharp slicing knife and place the beautiful slices on a pretty serving plate. Serve the dark meat separately. Reserve the bones and scraps for soup makings the next day. There will be plenty of drippings for gravy. This is the only method I ever use when cooking turkey. It never fails.

Wow, Natalie, thanks!

Hmmm, it really makes an important difference to roast the stuffing inside the turkey... Tastes so much better...

And can I bring the turkey cooked this way to the table whole, as is traditional?

The best way to have a nice moist turkey is not to buy a Butterball.

It's all true!

:)

I don't buy Butterballs! I get freshly killed free rnge turkeys from Amish farmers! And they are still dry and loathsome! I am trying to learn whether brining can be used on turkeys eaten by people with diabetes (sugar proscribed) and heat disease (salt proscribed).

Injecting abird with beer is an excellent way to increase the moisture. If you do brine a bird....use sea salt, it does not take much....1/2 c per quart of water is more than enough. Most of that will drain away as the bird cooks if you have the bird up on a roasting rack. Injecting a bird that will be deep fried is a must as it is for birds that will be smoked. I prefer to use beer to inject a bird. Another trick is to fill the bird's body cavity with a mixture of beer, sliced lemons & chopped onion with a little sage. All of these tricks work well. If you have a weight, cardio or diabetes problem just remember that you are limited to a 4oz serving of the meat!

I've always resisted the brining because of the salt (I'm salt intolerant) and because it makes the gravy salty. Cooks Illustrated has a "Don't Brine, Salt" recipe in the current issue that intimates salting works as well as brining without making the gravy too salty - I'm not into experimenting with a Thanksgiving turkey, but may try it with a chicken sometime.

Meanwhile - I always cook the stuffing outside the turkey without a problem. My secret is that I put a pot of chopped veggies, onions with skins, etc., the turkey innards and the tips of the wings on the stove in the morning when I put the turkey in the oven. I brown them, add water and herbs and simmer into a broth. That's what I use as liquid for the stuffing and the gravy!

I also carve the turkey in the kitchen and serve it on platters, Since everyone is in the kitchen anyway, they see it whole and I don't have the fuss when we sit down to eat. I hope that helps you to have a Happy Thanksgiving. Feel Better Soon!

I forgot to add - I use the pot I boil & mash the potatoes in as the soup/broth pot. It goes on the stove before we sit down to eat! Since I've already carved the turkey, I toss the bones right into the pot. Left over stock and the solids go in too, unless I need more liquid to stretch the gravy or moisten the dressing - then it goes right into the soup pot.

I wouldn't cook a turkey without brining. We started 3 years ago and it has been perfect every time.

If I'm cooking a bone-in chicken I'll cut it up and brine it for about an hour with handsful of fresh herbs in the brine. Then grill and it is the best chicken you can imagine. Moist, flavorful, not salty at all.

But how much sugar and salt actually get into the poultry--and is it too much for a person with medical issues that require care with both sugar and salt--or one or the other?

I dont know the answer... but I know where you can find out.... send your question to Alton Brown on the Food Network.. their website has a link to his show Good Eats and his people will give you an accurate answer about the salt and sugar in brining... My understanding is that the salt and sugar do not actually go into the meat... but they manipulate the electrolyte balance in the meat and make it cook differently... but ask them and they will give you a personal reply...

Angel

I make a mean brined chicken with Kosher salt, fennel and red pepper flakes. I've never had a juicer bird - ever. The salt stays on the skin as far as I know.

I would suggest doing a search on Epicure.com or some recipe site that would have the nutritional info listed.

Great idea, Bobbi! Thanks!

I am going to follow Lynne's recipe that I found in the '07 November edition of Saveur magazine for brining a turkey.
She suggested once brined that the bird will take 10 mins per pound to cook. Usually it takes about 20 mins per pound for poultry.

Does a brined bird take a shorter cooking time? Is 10 mins per lb accurate.

I am planning a feast for 35 and I have to plan my oven time accordingly.

Thanks for the help.
- John